26 BRITISH INSECTS 



ultimately hardens, forming a protective capsule. All 

 the Locustida are exclusively vegetable feeders. Some 

 fifteen species occur in Britain, if we include the stray 

 locusts l which occasionally visit us. Only the common 

 field grasshoppers, however, are truly indigenous. 

 These fall into three genera viz., Stenobothrus, Gom- 

 phocerus, and Tettix. The last includes two species, 

 which may be known at once by the crrious extension 

 of the pronotum backwards over the abdomen. In 

 T. subulatus the wings are long and the pronotum is 

 nearly flat, while T. bipunctatus has short wings and the 

 pronotum highly arched. The latter species, which 

 appears to be the more common, frequents dry clear- 

 ings in woods, where it hides amongst dead leaves. It 

 lays its eggs in spring, hibernates during the cold 

 weather,, and may be found by searching all the year 

 round. The genera Stenobothms (six species) and 

 Gomphocerus (three species) include the well-known 

 " meadow grasshoppers," members of the former 

 being distinguished by their thread-like, tapering 

 antennae, while those of the latter have the antennae 

 club-shaped. The species of Stenobothms are distin- 

 guished by minute characters which cannot be dealt 

 with here. Probably the three commonest species 

 are S. viridulus, S.parallelus, and 5. bicolor, all of which 

 may be found on almost any grassy spot throughout 

 the summer. Gomphocera vufus is reddish in colour, 

 as its specific name implies. It frequents dry, grassy 

 places, especially upon hillsides. G. maculatus, which 

 occurs in sandy districts, may be recognized by its 

 spotted appearance. G. sibiricus is really a mountain 

 insect, and is included in the British list on the 

 strength of a solitary specimen which is said to have 

 1 So far as is known, these large species do not stridulate. 



